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Originally Posted by markwilliamson2001
The other thing is lack of youngsters...very few young people starting up...i csnt believe this is just cost? What are parents doing with young kids in the area?? I remember most of the people racing when i was growing up were kids, with parents/dads running alongside them. Are RC cars not cool anymore?
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Currently I've got a heat full of under 10s turning up most weeks, although most (but not all) are kids of old drivers who then get back into it themselves as well. Keeping them there is down to atmosphere, treating them with the same respect and treating them as equals to the fastest drivers.
Drivers attitude makes all the difference, when one of the youngsters breaks down there's guaranteed to be one of the top drivers going over to work out what's wrong and fix it if they can, or if a youngster turns up with a Tamiya TT01 and one battery pack there'll be someone who will top it up for them on their charger. Making them feel part of the club makes all the difference to keeping them coming, which means they tell their mates about us and fathers also see it's a good place to bring their kids. Strangely enough the kids are the only ones who actually check their lap scores after each race, and printing off a spare set to give to them at the end of the night if they have done well means they have something to show their parents and friends to help promote the club. Get the young kids hooked and you've got someone who will race until their late teens when they discover beer and girls, then come back when they've settled down.
We used to have Phoenix Raceway a couple of miles away, a bigger permanent track that was advertised by the local hobby shop. It died because the serious racers there effectively scared off any newcomers which led to its demise. An example was a pair of new drivers that turned up at our club, they had been told by racers at Phoenix they needed the latest spec touring car, lipos and brushless to race there, while we told them the 15 year old Tamiya tourers with 540 motors and old nicads would be fine to get started and have fun racing. Guess which club they raced at.
As for getting them there in the first place, I can't help much there. We rely on an ancient website that needs updating with an easy way to email me from it, youtube videos and a facebook group, but mainly by word of mouth. We haven't been advertised in a model shop since 2004 and we've never got to the stage of needing to promote the club.
Getting coverage in your local papers is a good way to get yourself known, pointing out it's something for the kids to do and how little it costs to get started (540 motors make a cheap starter class) while pointing out there are world championships and the fact Lewis Hamilton started with r/c cars are good ways of attracting their attention.